Smaller is Better in Kansas

The $70 million Kansas Crossing project was selected in a 5-2 vote by the Kansas Lottery Gaming Facility Review Board to develop a casino in the state's southeast gaming...

Published June 29 2015

Thai Casinos: Official Support Grows

Thailand Finance Minister Sommai Phasee (l.) has joined the call for casino resorts in the country provided they are strictly regulated and located in resort areas. But almost 60...

Published June 29 2015

Jamaica Approves Two Casino Projects

The Jamaican government has provisionally approved two new casinos totaling a $1.3 billion investment: Harmony Cove (l.) in Trelawny and Celebration Jamaica Development in Montego Bay. Both must start...

Published June 29 2015

Ladbrokes, Gala Coral Mull Merger

Ladbrokes executives headed by new CEO Jim Mullen (l.) are contemplating a £3.5 billion merger with Gala Coral that would create Britain’s largest bookmaker. But Ladbrokes may have to...

Published June 29 2015

Seminoles Will Keep Blackjack Open

Even though a compact with the state that approved tables games at tribal casinos will expire on July 31, the Seminole tribe has told Governor Rick Scott that it...

Published June 29 2015

Alabama Casino Victorious; Legislature May Ignore Gaming

VictoryLand Casino (l.), shut down after a raid by Alabama Attorney General Luther Strange in 2013, recently won a victory in circuit court when Judge William Shashy ruled the...

Published June 29 2015

Hitting the Handle

Is big data coming to Nevada books? A new law allows a business to consolidate sports bets with “investors” earning money by winning more than they lose. The law...

Published June 29 2015

WEEKLY FEATURE: Industry Speaks to IRS

Gaming industry representatives headed by AGA President Geoff Freeman testified at an IRS public hearing in opposition to the agency’s slot reporting proposal. Freeman (l.) told IRS commissioners that...

Published June 22, 2015

Bay State’s First Casino to Open

Massachusetts will open its first casino, or rather racino, a slots parlor, on June 24, when Plainridge Park Casino begins operating. The $250 million casino will have 1,222 slot...

Published June 22, 2015

France Rejects Paris Casinos

The French government has rejected a proposal that would bring casinos to Paris. Instead, lawmakers hope to replace the city’s renegade cercles de jeux, or private gambling halls, with...

Published June 22, 2015

Comply or Die

What do AML, FinCEN, PTF, OFAC, BSA, PEP, SOW have to do with casinos and banks? They are all terms that all casino executives need to be familiar with...

Published June 22, 2015

Harrison to Head UKGC

Sarah Harrison, a senior partner at the power regulator in Great Britain, will join the U.K. Gambling Commission as commissioner in September and succeed Jenny Williams as chief executive...

Published June 22, 2015

Florida AG Challenges Gretna Slots

Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi (l.) called an appeals court's ruling approving slots in Gadsden County a “monumental change” that could lead to slots at parimutuels outside Broward and...

Published June 22, 2015

MGM’s $3 Billion Refi

MGM Resorts International has refinanced a credit agreement in order to complete its $2.9 billion resort now in development on Macau’s Cotai Strip (l.). The move increased the credit...

Published June 22, 2015

Tribal Labor Jurisdiction May be Decided by Supreme Court

The U.S. Supreme Court may have to decide whether the National Labor Relations Act applies to businesses operated on tribal land by tribes, such as casinos. There are conflicting...

Published June 22, 2015

FANTINI’S FINANCE: Conspicuous Consumption

The point of consumption tax recently imposed in the United Kingdom has negatively impacted revenues from iGaming companies active there. Will it spread to other countries and what are...

Published June 22, 2015

GLOBAL GAMING BUSINESS PODCAST: Walter Bugno, CEO, IGT International

This week, the GGB Podcast sits down with Walter Bugno, the CEO of IGT International, who discusses the recent purchase of IGT by GTECH, where he worked for many...

Published June 22, 2015

Class II At Stake in Massachusetts

The tiny Aquinnah Wampanoag tribe on a small offshore island will learn soon if they can build a Class II casino with no oversight from the state, but the...

Published June 15, 2015

Reality Sets in About Fantasy

The National Fantasy Football Convention, slated to take place in mid-July in Las Vegas, has been canceled by the National Football League, due to the fact it was to...

Published June 15, 2015

FANTINI’S FINANCE: Yes, Virginia!

She may not be Santa Claus, but Virginia McDowell has provided solid leadership through difficult times. Her company, Isle of Capri has performed well, bringing a higher stock price,...

Published June 15, 2015